


Soft Place to Land

by ForForever19



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Post-Season/Series 02 Finale, Wayhaught - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21906070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForForever19/pseuds/ForForever19
Summary: 'Waverly can’t stop herself from thinking 'wow, even her clothing is soft,' and the edges of her mouth tick up slightly. What a weird thought.' OR Waverly quietly marvelling at just how soft Nicole is.
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Wynonna Earp, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 5
Kudos: 114





	Soft Place to Land

**Disclaimer:** I, by no means, claim to own anything remotely related to the Wynonna Earp Universe. No copyright infringement intended.

* * *

**Soft Place to Land**

* * *

Waverly can’t help but marvel at how different it is, given it’s exactly the same.

Like Champ did all those months ago, Nicole stands at her right side, close enough that Waverly can feel the comforting warmth of her. They’re inside Shorty’s now, after it’s been tidied up.

After the entire saloon has been scrubbed clean.

After every trace of Alice Michelle has been removed from existence.

With all of it gone, it’s difficult to imagine their entire world was seconds from imploding just hours ago. Looking around, it’s almost impossible to know a life was brought into this world in here, and Waverly wouldn’t necessarily believe it if she’s hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

Now, though, Waverly is standing behind the bar, mainly out of habit, with Nicole within touching distance. There’s still so much they have to work through, she and Nicole, but this moment is free of that heaviness.

That expectation.

Instead, this moment is about the softest, lightest comfort.

Nicole slides her right hand along Waverly’s neck, slowly and purposefully upwards until she’s cupping her left cheek. Her palm is warm, fingers soft against Waverly’s skin, and it’s such a contrast to the roughness she remembers of Champ’s hands. Calloused and purposeless.

Instead, Nicole is soft.

Everything about her is just so, so soft.

Her voice, her touch, her eyes, everything.

Waverly feels her melancholy bleed out of her at Nicole’s touch. It takes her back to the day of Shorty’s memorial, when Nicole wasn’t the one standing beside her.

Holding her.

Comforting her.

It was a damn shame, then, and Waverly knew it at the time. Even then, she craved Nicole’s touch; sought out and reached for the gentleness of this comfort Nicole so willingly gives. Something being offered, and nothing expected in return.

Every time she allows herself to think about it, it catches her off guard. She _knows_ she’s lucky - every other person in this world would have run at the first sniff of a centuries-old family Curse, but Nicole stays.

She’s stayed, through all the drama and betrayal and just plain crazy.

That is sometimes the most unbelievable part of Waverly Earp’s life. Demons, she can handle. Even not knowing who or what she is, simple. But, this, being the sole focus of one Nicole Haught, or having those expressive eyes turned on her and only her is something out of this world.

She feels the ghost of a kiss against her opposite cheek, Nicole leaning in and brushing her lips over her skin. It’s comfort. It’s saying _I’m right here, baby_ , without her having to speak any words. It’s reassuring Waverly that they’ll get through all of this, together. Somehow. No matter how long it takes.

Another kiss against the line of her jaw, and Waverly wouldn’t feel it if Nicole didn’t let out a puff of warm breath. It sends a shiver down Waverly’s spine, and she finds herself melting a little more, leaning into Nicole’s body and soaking up everything on offer.

There’s another kiss, a little higher, and Waverly absently wonders what kind of magic Nicole wields in her lips. There have to be other forces at work here, surely, because she swears she can feel Nicole’s touch in her every nerve ending.

The kisses trail upwards, all of them butterfly soft, over her temple and into her hairline. There’s nothing rough about the action. Nothing possessive or predatory. She isn’t marking any territory or doing anything else similarly primal.

This isn’t about Nicole in any way.

Only Waverly.

Always, always Waverly.

Waverly closes her eyes, her lips pulling into a tiny smile. Because, the world could be burning all around them - which, okay, it sometimes feels as if it is - but she will always have this.

Right here, with Nicole.

Her protection.

Her _love_.

Now, isn’t that a wild thought?

Of course, Waverly has suspected the truth of it, but having the words spoken into the Universe is amazing in ways Waverly wouldn’t even begin to be able to explain, in any language she currently has packed away in her brain. She almost wonders what the point is learning them, when she can’t even put into words the magic that exists within Nicole Haught.

Just.

This moment exists, and maybe it’s never been about words, and more about feeling.She recalls the Danish word _Hygge_ , which is used to acknowledge ‘a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary, as cosy, charming or special.’

Nicole encapsulates that exact feeling, and she’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. There’s just so much warmth in Nicole’s eyes, and a strength unparalleled in her arms. Right here, right now, with Nicole’s hands on her skin; Waverly doesn’t know if she’s ever felt safer.

Because Nicole is _here_.

After the last few days of so many unknowns, Nicole is here and alive and, yes, they have so many things to discuss - like private property boundaries, secret wives, hot revenants and Alice Michelle - but they’re both here, and Waverly is choosing to focus on that at the moment.

_That_ , yes, and this:

“I love you.”

Nicole says the words so easily, now that the seal has been broken. She winces as those particular words flit through her mind, because, yeah, it’s still a bit of a sore subject with Wynonna.

Waverly rests more of her weight against Nicole, feeling lips still pressed to her skin. She doesn’t think she’d be willing to apologise for betraying her sister - and, possibly, the world - to save Nicole, and Wynonna hasn’t asked her to. Wynonna knows just how important Nicole is. Waverly would die if anything ever happened to her. She just knows she would never survive losing her.

Not now, not ever.

Not when she’s done the disastrous thing and allowed herself to _love_ another human being the way she has. Someone who’s not related to her. She’s willingly given Nicole Haught the opportunity to hurt her in a way Waverly has never experienced before.

Romantic love is terrifying, on any given day, but it’s magnified when it comes to Nicole. For whatever reason, this relationship feels heavy; feels as if it’s _it_. That isn’t something so easily accepted or acknowledged, and Waverly is reminded just how young and inexperienced she is next to Nicole’s surety and confidence.

Age-wise, there are four, almost five, years between them, and, while Waverly has always been a bit of an old soul, the gulf between them has never been more apparent than when examining the way they’ve handled the conflict in their relationship.

Nicole is too polite to bring it up, when the entire world seems to be imploding on the Earp sisters, but Waverly almost wishes she would blow up about it. Waverly wants her to yell; to scream and shout at her, so they can just ‘have it out.’ She wants to get it all out in the open, and she knows Nicole wants the same thing.

Just, Waverly suspects Nicole anticipates a series of calm conversations; nothing explosive. Because Nicole is soft and gentle, and it’s never been something Waverly has grown used to.

The people around her have always been abrasive, each of them demanding in some way. Her father, Willa, and even Wynonna, when she was little. Curtis wouldn’t know how to be gentle if someone paid him. Gus, perhaps, but even she can be abrupt, and then affectionate only when it truly calls for it.

And, now, there’s Nicole, who is a creature so foreign to Waverly that she sometimes has to pinch herself as a reminder that someone like Nicole Haught can actually exist in the world.

Which is all the more mind-blowing whenever Waverly thinks about the life Nicole’s lived before she arrived in Purgatory.

Waverly knows only snippets, because Nicole doesn’t talk about her family all that much. There’s a story there, Waverly knows, but she’s never been brave enough to ask and Nicole has never seemed inclined to share.

What she does know is Nicole doesn’t speak to her parents. Years of neglect has resulted in an estranged relationship, and Nicole admits to being a bit of a rebel without a cause in her youth.

Waverly’s not sure she believes her.

So, wherever Nicole developed this care; this gentleness - it has nothing to do with her parents. Waverly likes to think Nicole was born with it: this ability to care so openly and freely; to touch with no expectation; to recognise when comfort is needed and offer it so willingly.

It’s just a part of her at this point, and Waverly knows she’s selfish enough to let the entire galaxy burn just to keep this special, one-of-a-kind woman in her life. To keep her. To keep her feeling wanted and happy and loved.

Because Waverly really, truly does. She _loves_ Nicole, in that terrifying way she’s read about only in books and watched portrayed in some of the better movies in existence.

This feels real.

It feels like forever.

Barely twenty-two years old, and Waverly believes she’s found her soulmate. It’s felt inevitable since the moment they met, Waverly wet and bumbling, and Nicole smooth and suave, dimples at full attention and her intentions very, startlingly clear. They were forces meant to meet and interact and fall in love, and Waverly doesn’t need some kind of sign from the Universe to tell her what her heart already knows.

Which is why the next few conversations are going to be very important. It feels as if they’ll be make or break for them, and she can only hope she and Nicole can figure it out. Because life without her just isn’t appealing in the slightest.

Especially in tiny Purgatory. They work in the same building, for goodness’ sake. Just the idea of seeing Nicole and not being able to _be_ with her has Waverly turning her head and pressing her lips against Nicole’s in a kiss that seems to catch them both off guard. She can’t imagine a life without those eyes focused on her or that smile pointed in her direction.

Even the alternate reality wasn’t devoid of those things, now that Waverly can think about it without all the debilitating guilt of allowing a world without Wynonna even to exist.

The _one_ saving grace, she thinks with a small smile, is that she was engaged to Perry, and not Champ, which was still a step up. Small mercies and all that.

Nicole hums softly when the kiss comes to its natural end, and her eyes are a little wide in mild shock at the unexpected affection. Waverly wishes she wouldn’t be so surprised. Not ever. Nicole deserves all the affection in the world, and Waverly wants to be the one to give it to her.

To give her the world.

“Will I get a kiss every time I tell you I love you?” Nicole asks, her smile small, but her dimples present and so adoring.

“Definitely,” she answers with zero hesitation.

Nicole’s smile grows just a little, before it turns into something resembling a smirk. “I love you,” she whispers. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I lo - “

Waverly kisses her, and kisses her, and kisses her.

That hand on her cheek slides down over her shoulder and along her arm, just as her own hand reaches up to curl around the back of Nicole’s neck, her fingers playing with the little hairs she finds there.

Before, she never would have been comfortable with this much PDA at all, let alone in front of some of the most important people in her life. Later, she’ll think it might have been insensitive, but Nicole is magic, and the world doesn’t exist in this moment.

This moment, when all she hears and feels and experiences is Nicole Haught.

Maybe this is what they both deserve. Just for a little while, and she’s relieved to hear Nicole seems to be on the same page.

“Baby,” Nicole murmurs, breaking their kiss just enough to speak against Waverly’s lips. “Can I - do you want me to take you home?”

Waverly tilts her head up just enough to look right into Nicole’s eyes, her gaze soft and understanding. She’s giving Waverly the option, and she’ll accept whatever Waverly wants to do. Because that’s who she is, easily taking that step back and allowing Waverly to lead this dance, but willing to step in whenever she’s needed.

It’s breathtaking, really, that this woman exists.

Before the entire DNA results debacle, Waverly might have believed she was too good to be true, but it’s almost reassuring to know Nicole is human. She makes mistakes just like the rest of them, even if it is a misguided attempt to spare her girlfriend pain.

Waverly can see that now, finally past her initial rage and betrayal, and over the hump of petulance and stubborn lashing-out. She can almost understand it, though she still believes it’s not something she would ever do.

But, then again, she’s done quite a few things just in the past few days that she’s convinced she wouldn’t ever have done. It’s been sobering, really, realising just how far she would go to save the woman she loves.

It’ll be a cold day in Hell if ever the Revenants figure out she’ll do just about anything. Because Nicole is someone who deserves protection, even if she won’t admit it or even consciously seek it. The essence of who she is deserves to be preserved, and Waverly strongly believes she would choose Nicole over the world - though, even she can accept Nicole would never let her.

She’s far too noble for that, self-sacrificing in the worst of ways. Waverly suspects that’s just another conversation they’re going to have to have in the future. But, not right now.

Right now, she wants to go home.

“Please,” she whispers, a request for _something_ , that Nicole is still, somehow, able to understand.

Nicole smiles softly - always just so soft - and then leans forward to press her lips to Waverly’s forehead. “We should ask Wynonna if she wants to come with us,” she says, and Waverly loves her.

She _loves_ her.

How can she not?

“I’ll get her,” Waverly says, looking past Nicole at where Wynonna sits, stock-still, between Doc and Dolls, none of them saying a word. There are three glasses of Whiskey on the table in front of them, but they remain untouched.

The reality of the situation is sobering.

Waverly imagines there will be a point when it truly hits Wynonna, and Waverly knows she has to be there when it does. Nicole even said it. Wynonna is going to need her, and Waverly is going to try to be everything she needs. Just, you know, with Nicole by her side, where she will always want her.

“I’ll get our coats,” Nicole says with a nod. “And, uh, I imagine your bag is around here somewhere.”

“I think Doc put it in the back.”

Nicole nods again, and then moves to separate herself from Waverly. Just the idea of it causes a surge of anxiety within the brunette, and she finds herself holding onto her, gripping her jacket and holding her in place.

Nicole stops moving, saying nothing, as she allows Waverly to take whatever time she needs. Just knowing how patient and understanding Nicole has been through all of this makes Waverly feel all kinds of emotions, and she thinks she would probably shed more than a few tears if she wasn’t slightly self-conscious of being the only one crying - particularly after the hell of a day they’ve just had.

“I love you,” Nicole says, as if the words are enough to balm whatever sore has erupted in Waverly.

They almost are, really, but the kiss she presses to Waverly’s temple definitely helps.

It takes another full minute before Waverly feels some semblance of calm enough to release her death grip on Nicole’s jacket. Her fingers uncurl slowly, and she spends a moment smoothing the fabric where she’s caused slight creases. All while Nicole watches in silence, eyes probing but restrained.

Waverly can’t stop herself from thinking _wow, even her clothing is soft_ , and the edges of her mouth tick up slightly. What a weird thought.

Nicole prompts another separation a beat later, tentative in her movement, but Waverly lets her go, reluctant as she is. Nicole offers her a reassuring smile, and then backs away, keeping her eyes locked on Waverly as she moves to disappear from sight.

Waverly’s anxiety peaks the second she can no longer see Nicole, and she has to remind herself Nicole is coming back. She’s right through those doors, and she’s coming back, because she’s not the one who had to say goodbye to the one thing she loves most in this world.

No.

Wynonna is.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself for what’s to come, Waverly sets off to try to convince her sister to come back to the Homestead with them. That thought gives her pause, because, when Nicole says _home_ , Waverly assumes she means the Earp home, right?

Right?

A home they’ve made their own. A home Nicole has become such a part of that they barely spend time at Nicole’s house.

Well.

Things have been a little strained in recent weeks, but the sentiment and emotion remain. There is a place for Nicole at the Homestead, and Wynonna may need Waverly, but Waverly needs Nicole. At this point, Waverly can’t imagine being separated from either one of them.

In the end, it doesn’t take much convincing. Waverly doesn’t even have to say a word. One look is enough, and Wynonna is getting to her feet - stumbling really, even though she’s sober - with this look of relief on her face.

As if she’s just been waiting to leave. As if she’s just been waiting to see if Waverly will take her with them.

It’s heartbreaking, and Waverly can’t help wondering just how she managed to balance her ledger to end up with women like Nicole and Wynonna in her life.

She’s damn lucky, and that idea is merely solidified when Nicole returns, arms full of their coats and Waverly’s bag slung over her shoulder. She looks adorable, and a sweet smile spreads across her face at the look Waverly is giving her.

“What?” Nicole asks, just a little self-conscious.

Waverly just continues to smile, which grows that bit more when Nicole hands Wynonna her coat and then sets her own on the counter, just to hold open Waverly’s for her.

Did Waverly mention she’s in love?

Because, she is.

Like, a lot.

_A lot_ a lot.

She’s blushing when she turns and slides her hands through the arm holes, doing her best to suppress her smile. She’s sure she’s failing, though.

Nicole hugs her gently from behind as she slips the the coat over Waverly’s shoulders, and then kisses the top of her head. “All good?”

Waverly hums, nodding once. “All good,” she agrees quietly, because, maybe, if she allows herself to believe all the best things exist in this moment right here, then, yes, she’s good.

Great, even.

Waverly looks at Wynonna, who is already looking at her. Her expression is soft, though a little unreadable. It’s something new, because she’s never seen it before, and she can’t help wondering if something has inherently changed about her.

Because she’s now a _mother_.

Whoa.

Maybe this is what a softer Wynonna looks like. The second the thought flits through her mind, she turns around to look at Nicole, unable to stop herself from wondering just how much softer Nicole can possibly get when _she_ becomes a mother.

_When_.

The breath leaves Waverly’s body in one fell swoop, and she sways ever so slightly at the mere thought of Nicole Haught, Mother. Because, gosh, if it all goes to plan, then Waverly is going to be right there beside her when it happens.

They’re going to be mothers together.

Nicole ducks her head a little to catch her gaze. “Baby, what is it?”

“I just - I - “ she stops, and puffs out a breath. “I really love you.”

Nicole blinks, her eyes a little wide as a happy smile spreads across her face. “I love you, too,” she says, her voice breathy, and it takes Waverly back to an evening not too long ago where they said the same words, except ‘love’ was ‘like.’

Not anymore.

Waverly is never going to hide from this love. Never again. She’ll tell Nicole every day. Every opportunity she gets.

Waverly would kiss her, but she’s all too aware of Wynonna standing and waiting and carefully avoiding looking at them. That’s just a whole other conversation she’s going to be having, as well.

Soon.

Preferably before Wynonna grows hard again.

Right now, Waverly just wants to bask in all the soft around her. She extends an arm to Wynonna, who steps closer, and she holds her other hand out for Nicole. When fingers don’t automatically link with hers, she glances over her shoulder at where Nicole is still putting on her coat and gathering the rest of their things.

It makes her smile. Just being able to see her, alive and well and just a little happy, makes Waverly’s insides warm.

Makes them soft.

Nicole takes one final look around, making sure she has everything, and then closes the space between them, her fingers finally linking with Waverly’s and giving her hand a squeeze. Soft enough that Waverly feels the reassurance without it being overwhelming.

It’s the two of them, and the three of them. Five, six, seven. For the next chunk of their lives, they all have a common goal. A very important reason to see this damned Curse through.

Alice Michelle.

A future.

Happiness and love and weddings and more children and _life_.

Waverly doesn’t think she can ask for more than that, and she isn’t even asking. It would be selfish to, she thinks, after all she’s already been given. Wynonna, back in her life, and Nicole, alive and here to stay.

Nicole steps in nice and close, and Waverly can feel the heat of her body through their coats. Maybe. It could be she’s just imagining it based on their proximity, but she knows there’s an undeniable warmth to Nicole Haught. It’s in her very being.

This time, when Nicole asks if she’s ready to go, both Waverly and Wynonna nod their assent. They say a collective and quick farewell to the boys, who don’t seem to know what more they can say in this situation.

In all intents and purposes, they’ve succeeded in their plan, and now they all have to live with the consequences. Whatever that entails.

But, she’s ready.

Waverly will face anything and everything this world has to throw at her, willingly and wholeheartedly, with these two incredible women at her sides.

She can take on the world.

And, as soon as that thought floats through her mind, it’s fitting that she slips on the ice the moment they step out the door. Wynonna’s grip is too slack to prevent a fall, and Waverly goes tumbling backwards -

Only to be caught by Nicole Haught.

Waverly’s knight in shining armour.

Nicole steadies her with confident hands and says, “I got you,” very quietly. “I swear I got you.”

One day, Waverly will look back on this moment, and just know, for sure and without hesitation, that this woman really is the epitome of flawed perfection. The millennial in her would even call her relationship goals.

What she does know for sure, though, is that there’s nobody else for Waverly; nor would she ever want there to be.

Because Nicole is Nicole, and it’s both the easiest and most difficult thing to love her. She would, hands down, do it all again, but she still might tweak a few things about how everything has played out between them.

Nothing else.

She would change nothing else.

Absolutely nothing about the person Nicole is in every facet of her being, her hair a little windswept, her eyes open and focused, and her lips stretched into a disbelieving smile. She’s perfect just the way she is, and Waverly realises their entire love has been inevitable.

A cop walks into a bar, and the bartender falls.

Like right now, and back then.

Waverly Earp has fallen, and Nicole Haught has caught her, hands steady and heart strong.

And that’s Nicole, exactly.

In her entirety.

Always, always a soft place to land.

* * *

_Fin_


End file.
